Cardless payment transactions

ABSTRACT

A method that includes obtaining a current location of a mobile device of a customer; sending the current location to a cardless payment system; determining whether to send, to the cardless payment system, an indication of consent to perform a cardless payment transaction with the merchant; displaying on the mobile device whether the merchant is authorized to perform a cardless payment transaction with the customer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Patent Application No. 61/563,022, entitled “Cardless PaymentTransactions,” filed Nov. 22, 2011, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to cardless payment transactions.

BACKGROUND

In a conventional point-of-sale electronic credit card transaction, thetransaction is authorized and captured. In the authorization stage, aphysical credit card with a magnetic stripe is swiped through amerchant's magnetic card reader, e.g., as part of a point-of-saledevice. A payment request is sent electronically from the magnetic cardreader to a credit card processor. The credit card processor routes thepayment request to a card network, e.g., Visa or Mastercard, which inturn routes the payment request to the card issuer, e.g., a bank.Assuming the card issuer approves the transaction, the approval is thenrouted back to the merchant. In the capture stage, the approvedtransaction is again routed from the merchant to the credit cardprocessor, card network and card issuer, and the payment request caninclude the cardholder's signature (if appropriate). The capture statecan trigger the financial transaction between the card issuer and themerchant, and optionally creates a receipt. There can also be otherentities, e.g., the card acquirer, in the route of the transaction.Debit card transactions have a different routing, but also requireswiping of the card.

Many transactions require that the customer sign a physical receipt,electronically approve a transaction, e.g., by pressing an approvebutton on a user interface, electronically sign for the transaction,e.g., with a stylus or finger on an electronic signature capture devicewith a touch sensitive pad, or enter an authorizing personalidentification number (PIN).

Another conventional purchasing technique is online shopping, e.g.,using a web browser to view a merchant's web page. However, onlineshopping is generally not applicable if the customer is present inperson at the merchant's store.

SUMMARY

On the one hand, it would be generally convenient for a customer todispense with swiping of a credit card. On the other hand, the risk ofunauthorized transactions is a potential problem in cardless paymenttransaction. An approach for conducting an electronic paymenttransaction without swiping a card is for the customer to provideauthorization that particular merchants can perform a cardless paymenttransaction, and for such transactions to only be authorized when thecustomer is within a predetermined distance of the merchant, e.g., assensed by the customer's mobile device.

In one aspect, a method of processing a transaction between a customerand a merchant includes receiving from a mobile device of the customeror from another device of the customer an indication of consent toperform a cardless payment transaction with the merchant, receiving fromthe mobile device an indication that the customer is within apredetermined distance of the merchant, after receiving both theindication of consent and the indication that the customer is within thepredetermined distance, sending to a computer system of the merchant anindication of the presence of the customer and personal identifyinginformation for the customer, receiving data indicating a transactionbetween the customer and the merchant, and submitting the transaction toa financial service for authorization.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Anindication may can be received from the financial service that thetransaction is authorized. A record of the transaction may be sent tothe computer system of the merchant. An indication of consent may bereceived from the merchant to perform cardless payment transactions withcustomers, and location information for the merchant may be received. Anindication of a request to identify a merchant that will performcardless payment transactions may be received from the mobile device ofthe customer. Location information for the customer from the mobiledevice of the customer may be received, the merchant may be selectedfrom a plurality of merchants based on the location information for thecustomer and the location information for the merchant, and anidentification of the merchant and the location information for themerchant may be sent to the mobile device of the customer. Theindication of consent to perform the cardless payment transaction withthe merchant is may be received before or after the indication that thecustomer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant isreceived. The indication of consent to perform the cardless paymenttransaction with the merchant may be received in the indication that thecustomer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant. Thepersonal identifying information may be a name and/or a photograph ofthe customer.

Whether a value of the transaction exceeds a predetermined amount may bedetermined, and a request for approval of the transaction may be sent tothe mobile device of the customer before submitting the transaction tothe financial service. A PIN may be received from the mobile device inresponse to the request for approval, and the PIN may be compared to apreviously received PIN. Whether a value of the transaction exceeds apredetermined amount may be determined, and a request for approval ofthe transaction by the customer may be sent to the computer system ofthe merchant before submitting the transaction to the financial service.A PIN may be received from the computer system of the merchant, and thePIN may be compared to a previously received PIN. A value of thetransaction may be determined to not exceed a predetermined amount, andthe transaction may be submitted to the financial service withoutsending to the mobile device of the customer a request for approval ofthe transaction. An identification of the financial institution and thepersonal information may be received from a mobile device of thecustomer or from another device of the customer. Data indicating atransaction between the customer may be received from the computersystem of the merchant. A record of the transaction may be sent to theuser device. The transaction may be submitted to a financial service forcapture before sending the record of the transaction.

In another aspect, a method of performing a transaction with a merchantincludes receiving in a mobile device a location of a merchant,determining in the mobile device whether the mobile device is within apredetermined distance of the location of the merchant, sending from themobile device to a computer system of a third party an indication thatthe customer is within a predetermined distance of the merchant, sendingfrom the mobile device to the computer system of the third party anindication of consent to perform a cardless payment transaction with themerchant, and receiving in the mobile device from the computer system ofthe third party a record of a transaction with the merchant.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Therecord of the transaction may be received without having transmitted anapproval for the amount of the transaction. A request for approval ofthe transaction may be received in the mobile device, and the requestmay include the amount of the transaction. A PIN may be sent from themobile device to the computer system of the third party in response tothe request for approval. Location information for a plurality ofmerchants may be received, input from the customer may be receivedselecting the merchant from the plurality of merchants, and anidentification of the merchant may be sent to the computer system of thethird party.

In another aspect, a method of performing a transaction with a customerincludes receiving an indication from a computer system of a third partythat a customer is present within a predetermined distance and personalidentifying information for the customer, displaying an option toperform a cardless payment transaction with the customer and displayingthe personal identifying information, receiving user input selecting theoption, receiving user input identifying a transaction with the customerincluding at least an amount of the transaction, sending data indicatingthe transaction to the computer system of the third party, and receivingfrom the computer system of the third party a record of a transaction.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Anamount of the transaction may be determined to exceed a threshold orreceiving a request for approval of the transaction, and requestinginput from the customer approving the transaction. Requesting input mayinclude requesting a PIN, and the PIN may be sent to the computer systemof the third party. Whether the amount of the transaction exceeds thethreshold may be determined.

In another aspect, a method including obtaining a current location of amobile device of a customer; sending the current location to a cardlesspayment system; determining whether to send, to the cardless paymentsystem, an indication of consent to perform a cardless paymenttransaction with the merchant; displaying on the mobile device whetherthe merchant is authorized to perform a cardless payment transactionwith the customer.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features.Receiving a location of the merchant; displaying a map, where the mapdisplays the location of the merchant and the current location. The mapdisplays a perimeter around the location of the merchant, where theperimeter resides a predetermined distance from the location of themerchant. Determining whether to send the indication of consent furthercomprises: displaying an option to send the indication of consent; ifthe mobile device receives input that triggers the option, sending theindication of consent to the cardless payment system. Determiningwhether the customer is within a predetermined distance of the merchant.If the mobile device is not within the predetermined distance,displaying an indication that the merchant is not authorized to performthe cardless payment transaction. Determining a distance from the mobiledevice to the merchant, and displaying the distance. If the mobiledevice is within the predetermined distance, sending an indication thatthe customer is within the predetermined distance to the cardlesspayment system. The indication of consent to perform the cardlesspayment transaction with the merchant is sent before the indication thatthe customer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant issent. The indication of consent to perform the cardless paymenttransaction with the merchant is sent after the indication that thecustomer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant is sent.The indication of consent to perform the cardless payment transactionwith the merchant is sent with the indication that the customer iswithin the predetermined distance of the merchant. Determining whetheran indication of consent has been received from the customer to performcardless payment transactions with the merchant, and displaying thedetermination. Sending, to the cardless payment system, an indication ofa request to identify a merchant that will perform cardless paymenttransactions; receiving an identification of the merchant and locationinformation for the merchant; and displaying the identification and thelocation information for the merchant. Receiving a request for approvalof the transaction from the cardless payment system. Sending to thecardless payment system a PIN in response to the request for approval.Sending to the cardless payment system an identification of a financialinstitution and personal information of the customer. Receiving a recordof the cardless payment transaction to the mobile device. The merchantis authorized to perform the cardless payment transaction, and where theindication of consent does not include preselected items or services forpurchase by the customer. The merchant is authorized to perform thecardless payment transaction, and where the indication of consent isconsent for the merchant to ring up items or services selected by thecustomer at a location of the merchant.

In another aspect, a method of purchasing goods or services from amerchant, comprising: selecting via a computing device a merchant andproviding an indication of consent to perform a cardless paymenttransaction with the merchant to a cardless payment system; receiving ona mobile device an indication that the mobile device is within apredetermined distance of a location of the merchant; receiving on themobile device a validating phrase; at a point-of-sale for the merchantidentifying the goods or services for purchase; and providing thevalidating phrase to the merchant.

In another aspect, a computer program product, tangibly embodied in amachine readable storage media, includes instructions for causing aprocessor to perform any of the methods described above.

In another aspect, a system for processing a transaction between acustomer and a merchant includes a customer mobile device, a merchantcomputer system, and a server system. The customer mobile device,merchant computer system and server system are configured to perform anoperation in which the mobile device receives customer input indicatingconsent to perform a cardless payment transaction with the customer andsends to the server system an indication of the consent, the mobiledevice receives a location of a merchant, determines whether the mobiledevice is within a predetermined distance of the location of themerchant, and if the mobile device is within the predetermined distancesend to the server system an indication that the customer is within thepredetermined distance, after receiving both the indication of consentand the indication that the customer is within the predetermineddistance, the server system sends to the merchant computer system anindication of the presence of the customer and personal identifyinginformation for the customer, the merchant computer system displays anoption to perform a cardless payment transaction with the customer anddisplays the personal identifying information, receives merchant inputidentifying a transaction with the customer including at least an amountof the transaction, and sends data indicating the transaction to theserver system, the server system submits the transaction to a financialservice for authorization, receives an indication from the financialservice that the transaction is authorized, and sends a record of thetransaction to the mobile device and to the merchant computer system.

Advantages may include one or more of the following. A customer canconduct a point-of-sale electronic payment transaction with a merchantwithout swiping a card. In addition, the customer can verbally notifythe merchant to perform a transaction, and the customer can conduct thetransaction without having to access his or her own wallet or mobilephone. In addition, in some implementations the customer need notinteract with a point-of-sale device, e.g., need not press an approvebutton on a user interface of the point-of-sale device or electronicallysign. Consent to a cardless payment transaction can be given by thecustomer before the customer physically arrives at the merchant or atthe merchant's point-of-sale device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example cardless payment systemarchitecture.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example implementation of the cardless paymentsystem.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example flow chart of the cardless paymentsystem.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example view of the application's main page onthe user's mobile device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example application view of a user that hasopened a tab at a merchant inside the predetermined distance from themerchant.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example application view with a user that hasattempted to open a tab at a merchant outside the predetermined distancefrom the merchant.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example view of a merchant device'sapplication.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As an overview, the system allows a user (also called a customer orpayer) to purchase items from a merchant while physically present at themerchant, e.g., at the point of sale, but using a cardless paymenttransaction. A cardless payment transaction is one where a user conductsthe transaction with a merchant at a point of sale using a financialaccount without physically presenting a payment card to the merchant atthe point of sale. In fact, the merchant need not receive any detailsabout the financial account, e.g., the credit card issuer, credit cardnumber, and the like is not provided to the merchant.

From the user's perspective, the user first signs up for an account withthe cardless payment system. The sign-up process requires certaininformation, such as information about a financial account sufficient toperform a transaction with the account. For example, if the financialaccount is a credit card account, then credit card information can beprovided, e.g., credit card number and expiration date. The user canalso sign up with other payment methods such as debit cards, pre-paidcards, bank accounts, or other third party financial accounts. The signup process can also require contact information for the user, e.g.,mailing address and email, and other personal identifying information,e.g., a photograph of the user. After creating an account, the user canselect a merchant that also has an account with the cardless paymentsystem. The user can give consent to perform a cardless paymenttransaction with the merchant if the user is within a predetermineddistance from the merchant. After the user gives consent, the merchantcan, without a presentment of the physical payment card, charge (in thecase of credit cards) or debit (in the case of debit cards) the user'sfinancial account for items the user wants to buy. Because the user'spayment card is already on file with the cardless payment system, theuser does not need to physically present a credit card to the merchant.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the architecture of an examplecardless payment system 100. The overall system 100 includes a userdevice 102 and merchant device 104 connected to a network, e.g., theInternet 106. The user device 102 is a mobile computing device, i.e., ahand-held computing device, capable of running a user application. Forexample, the user device 102 can be a smartphone or tablet computer. Themerchant device 104 is also a computing device, capable of running amerchant application. The merchant device 104 can be a mobile device, orit can be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a dedicated point ofsale system, or other data processing apparatus.

A cardless payment processor operates a payment service system 108. Theuser and merchant devices can communicate with the payment servicesystem 108 using the network 106. The payment service system 108includes an application server 110 and a secure server 112 to processesall transactions between the user device 102 and merchant device 104. Ingeneral, the application server 110 handles non-secure information. Forexample, it can store public merchant information such as the merchant'saddress or phone number. The application server 110 can also beresponsible for transferring or updating the user application to theuser's mobile device or transferring or updating the merchantapplication to the merchant's computing device. In particular, theapplication server 112 can be responsible for sending information aboutmerchants that have accounts with the cardless payment system to theuser device 102. The secure server 112 handles secure information suchas credit card numbers, debit card numbers, bank accounts, useraccounts, user identifying information or other sensitive information.

The payment service system 108 can communicate electronically with acard payment network 116, e.g., Visa, Mastercard, or the like. Thepayment service system 108 can communicate with a computer system 116 ofa card payment network, e.g., Visa or MasterCard. The payment servicesystem 108 can communicate with a computer system 116 over the samenetwork 106 used to communicate with the user device 102, or over adifferent network. The computer system 116 of the card payment networkcan communicate in turn with a computer system 118 of a card issuer,e.g., a bank. There can also be computer systems of other entities,e.g., the card acquirer, between the payment service system 108 and thecard issuer.

Before a transaction between the user and the merchant can be performedusing the cardless payment system, the user must create a user accountwith the payment service system 108 and the merchant must create amerchant account with the payment service system 108.

The user can sign up using a mobile application or using an onlinewebsite, and can use the mobile device 102 or another computing device,e.g., a home computer. At some point prior to the transaction, a userapplication is downloaded to the user device 102, e.g., through anapplication store. Creation of the user account can be handled throughthe user application, or through another application, e.g., a genericweb browser. The user enters a name, account password, and contactinformation, e.g., email address. Before a transaction can be performed,the user also enters financial account information sufficient to conductthe transaction into the payment service system 108. For example, in thecase of a credit card account, the user can enter the credit cardissuer, credit card number and expiration date into the payment servicesystem 108; the card validation value and mailing address may also berequired. However, the financial account could also be associated with adebit card or pre-paid card, or another third party financial account.

In some implementations, the payment service system 108 requiresadditional personal identifying information before a transaction can beperformed. For example, the payment service system 108 may require aphoto of the user before a transaction can be performed. The photo ofthe user would be provided to the merchant so that the merchant cancompare the photo to the person. In addition, the payment service system108 can require a personal identification number (PIN) be entered by theuser. Other requirements can also be added to increase security. Thedata associated with a user account 114 can be stored at the secureserver 112, e.g., in a database.

If the user is signing up with a mobile application, the user'sfinancial account information can be entered by swiping the financialtransaction card through a slot of a card reader coupled to the mobiledevice. Alternatively, the user can enter in financial accountinformation by typing in information at the mobile device 102, selectinga card from an application on the mobile device, from an online entity,or others. In some implementations, another external applicationgenerates a receipt that is sent to the user. The receipt then includesa hypertext link that allows a user to easily create a user account inthe cardless payment system. For example, activating the link in thereceipt can automatically create a user account with a payment cardprefilled with the card used in the receipt to reduce effort by theuser. In effect, activating a new account using a receipt auto-verifiesthe user into the cardless payment system.

The merchant can sign up for an account using the merchant device 104 oranother device. The merchant enters a name, account password, andcontact information, e.g., email address, and physical locationinformation, e.g., an address, into the payment service system 108. Themerchant can also provide other information, e.g., a list of goods orservices available, operating hours, phone number, a small identifyingimage logo or mark, to the payment service system 108. The dataassociated with the merchant account 114 can be stored at the secureserver 112, e.g., in a database.

At some point prior to the transaction, a merchant application isdownloaded to the merchant device 102, e.g., through an applicationstore. Creation of the merchant account can be handled through themerchant application, or through another application, e.g., a genericweb browser.

Eventually, in order to receive funds from the transaction, the merchantwill need to enter financial account information into the paymentservice system sufficient to receive funds. For example, in the case ofa bank account, the user can enter the bank account number and routingnumber. However, the merchant's financial account can also be associatedwith a credit card account or another third party financial account. Inaddition, in some implementations, if the merchant has not entered thefinancial account information, the cardless payment processor can holdthe received funds until the financial account information is provided.

FIG. 2 is a diagram that outlines an example implementation of thecardless payment system 100. A user carries a mobile device 102 with theuser application installed, and a merchant has a device 104 with themerchant application installed. Users and merchants each have anassociation, e.g., an account, with the payment service system 108.

The system can predetermine a geo-location distance 206, e.g., a radius,around the location of the merchant. In some implementations, thegeo-location distance 206 is 500 feet. In some implementations, thegeo-location distance 206 can be set by the merchant, e.g., the paymentservice system 108 receives input from the merchant device 104 oranother computer system of the merchant setting the location radius. Insome implementations, the payment service system 108 may limit theradius set by the merchant to a maximum location radius.

If the user device is located outside the geo-location radius 206 of themerchant, the merchant application does not provide an option to conducta cardless payment transaction with the user. In this case, the userdevice 102 will indicate it is outside the geo-location radius 206 ofthe merchant, and the merchant device 104 will be unable to charge theuser's financial account, as further described in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6.

However, a user can create or configure a tab with the merchant at anygeographical location using an application on the user device 102, or onanother device, e.g., another mobile device or on a home computer, thatis granted access to the user's account. A tab is a relationship betweenthe user, the payment service system 108, and the merchant. Once a tabis created, the user device 102 saves the merchant's information, e.g.,the name and location of the merchant, and the user device 102 candisplay information about the merchant a main view of the application asfurther described in FIG. 4 when the application is active. If the tabis created by the user using a device other than the user device 102,then the payment service system 108 will provide the merchantinformation to the user device 102.

If the user device 102 is located within the geo-location radius 206 ofthe merchant , the user can “open a tab” with the merchant using anapplication on the user device 102 as further described in FIG. 3 andFIG. 5. The user can configure the tab to “auto-open” the tab once theuser is within the geo-location radius 206 of the merchant, which willbe further described below. In some implementations, the user canconfigure a tab to set a maximum amount that can be charged pertransaction with the merchant.

Opening a tab with a merchant allows the merchant application to displayan option to charge the user's financial account using a cardlesspayment transaction. In essence, opening the tab constitutes a consentby the user to conducting a cardless transaction with the merchant. Thisconsent differs from actual authorization of the transaction, which theuser would provide, e.g., verbally, upon learning the amount of thetransaction.

In some implementations, in order to determine whether user device 102is within the geo-location radius 206 of the merchant device 104, themerchant's location, e.g., address, and the geo-location radius 206 forthe merchant are provided to the user device 102. The user device 102can then use a geofencing function. For example, the user device 102determines its own location, e.g., based on GPS information, cellphonedata, wireless network data, or the like, and then determines whetherits own location is within the geo-location radius 206 of the merchantlocation.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example flow chart of process conducted withthe cardless payment system 100. The process conducted with the cardlesspayment system 100 involves relationships between a user's mobiledevice, a server system, and a merchant's device. The server system canreside in the payment service system 108 and be configured to send andreceive communications between the user device and the merchant device.The server system can include the application server 110 and/or thesecure server 112. The communications can be encrypted using secureprotocols built into the user device, server system, and merchantdevice. In some implementations, this process is implemented through theapplications installed on both the user's mobile device and themerchant's device.

In a typical situation, the user enters a request into the mobile device102 to identify a merchant that will perform cardless paymenttransactions. The mobile device 102 directs the request to the serversystem. The request can be accompanied by location information, e.g., asdetermined by the mobile device 102. The server system receives therequest, and selects one or more merchants based on the locationinformation from the customer and the stored location information forthe merchant. At least an identification of the merchant and thelocation information for the merchant is sent to the mobile device 102.

The user may input a request for further information about a merchant,e.g., press a “details” button on the user interface of the userapplication. In response, the user device can display furtherinformation received from the merchant, e.g., the list of goods orservices available, operating hours, and phone number.

The user sends an indication of consent to perform a cardless paymenttransaction with the merchant to the server system. For example, theuser can request to “open a tab” at a merchant by interfacing with theuser application on the user device (step 302); this request canconstitute the indication of consent.

Alternatively, the request to identify a merchant, the display ofinformation concerning the merchant, and/or the indication of consent,could be entered into a computer other than the user device 102, e.g.,the user's home computer, that is logged in to the user's account on thepayment service system 108. In any event, should the user indicateconsent to perform the transaction, at least an identification of themerchant and the location information for the merchant is sent to themobile device 102.

The mobile device determines whether it is within the predetermineddistance from the merchant (step 304). In some implementations, if themobile device does not have the current location of the merchant, or ifthe merchant updated its location information, the merchant location canbe pushed or pulled into the mobile device. Alternatively, if the useropts in to sharing of location information, the location information ofthe mobile device can be provided to the server of the payment servicesystem 108, and the server determines the distance between the merchantand the mobile device.

As described above, if the mobile device determines the user's mobiledevice is not within a predetermined distance (e.g. 500 feet), themobile device displays a message indicating its inability to open a taband rejecting the user's request (step 308). In this case, the mobiledevice can create or configure a tab, but cannot open a tab. In otherwords, the merchant cannot charge the user's financial account using acardless payment transaction until the user is within the predetermineddistance and the merchant has the user's consent. This is furtherdescribed in FIG. 6.

On the other hand, if the mobile device is within the predetermineddistance, the mobile device sends an indication of proximity to theserver of the payment service system (step 306). In someimplementations, the user can “auto-open” a tab. For example, the userfirst requests that a tab be “auto-opened.” While a tab is configured tobe “auto-opened”, the mobile device can automatically detect when it iswithin the predetermined distance and send the indication of proximity,which will be described further in FIG. 5. The indication of proximitycan be determined using wireless network geo-fencing or GPS signals. Insome implementations, if the mobile device is not within thepredetermined distance, the user application will not permit theindication of consent to be input. In some implementations, if themobile device is not within the predetermined distance when anindication of consent is input, the user application will require thatthe user again input an indication of consent when the mobile device iswithin the predetermined distance.

After the server receives this indication of proximity, the serversystem sends the indication of the mobile device's presence and personalidentifying information to the merchant device (step 310). In someimplementations, personal identifying information includes the user'sname and picture. Upon receipt of this information, the merchant devicedisplays a tab (step 312) and the user's identifying information (step314) on the graphical user interface (GUI) of the merchant application.The user can select, from the merchant's store, one or more items forpurchase. In some implementations, through the GUI of the merchantapplication, the merchant can select items that the user has sought topurchase. The application can be configured to associate individualprices with each of the merchant's items, and the application canautomatically sum the total transaction amount that the user owes. Insome implementations, the merchant can enter into the application atotal sum of prices for all the items the user wishes to purchase, aswell as tax or tip. A user can authorize payment for a tab by verballynotifying the merchant. For example, a user named John Smith can tellthe merchant, “Put this on John Smith.” Before or after the userauthorizes payment for the tab, the merchant verifies the user'sidentity (step 316). In some implementations, the merchant ensures theimage displayed on the merchant device matches the user who is presentin person. Assuming that the image matches, the merchant selects theuser's tab using the GUI of the merchant application. In someimplementations, the merchant can ask the user for more identifyinginformation before processing the transaction such as the user'sbirthday, address, or other personal identifying information. Afterverifying the user's identity, the merchant interfaces with the merchantapplication to start processing the transaction.

In some implementations, the amount to be charged exceeds apredetermined amount set by the user, the merchant or the cardlesspayment processor. In this case, the user enters in a PIN associatedwith the user's account into the merchant device. The merchant deviceverifies the PIN with the server. Alternatively, the server system maycommunicate with the user device and cause the user device to requestedthat the user enter the PIN into the user device. In yet anotheralternative, the server system can ask the user to confirm the paymenton the user device, removing the need to enter a PIN.

The merchant's device sends a record of the requested transaction to theserver (step 318). The server system continues processing the requestedtransaction (step 320) by sending the record to the computer system ofthe card payment network 116, e.g., Visa or MasterCard, and the cardpayment network 116 then sends the record to the card issuer, e.g., thebank, as described above.

If the transaction fails because it would exceed the credit limit orthere are insufficient funds in the financial account, the servernotifies the merchant application. In some implementations, the servercan notify both the merchant application and user application.

If the transaction succeeds and the server system receives approval fromthe card payment network 116, the server system communicates this to themerchant device. The merchant device then captures the transaction. Inthe capture stage, the approved transaction is again routed from themerchant to the credit card processor, card network and card issuer. Therecord of the transaction in the capture stage can the cardholder'ssignature (if appropriate), or other information. The capture state cantrigger the financial transaction between the card issuer and themerchant. On receipt of an indication from the card network that thetransaction has been captured, the server system optionally createsreceipts to send to the user, e.g., through the user application and/orthrough the previously provided contact email, and to the merchant (step322). Both devices then display the receipt in each of theirapplications (steps 324, 326). Optionally, the user may be permitted toopt out of notification.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example view of the application's main page onthe user's mobile device 402. In some implementations, each entity (e.g.user or merchant) is represented as a card and relationships between theuser and user-selected merchants are represented as cards stored in acard case 422. The card case 422 can display the user's initials 424.The edges of the card case 422 can be a dashed line to mimic stitchingof a wallet. Each card can contain a picture representing a logo or aprofile picture 412, 414, 416, 418. For example, a user named John Smithcan access his user account information by tapping the John Smith card404. Each merchant can be represented with a custom-designed card. Insome implementations, tapping the card of Merchant 1 406, Merchant 2108, or Merchant 3 410 will cause the mobile device 402 to display anoption to either “Open a tab” or “Show details” regarding the merchant.In some implementations, directing the user device to open a tab willfollow the process of FIG. 3. In some implementations, showing moredetails will display a custom merchant page indicating informationregarding the merchant. For example, the mobile device can display a maparound the merchant's area, the merchant's phone number, the merchant'soperating hours, or other merchant information. The application alsoallows the user to “Explore Places” 420. In some implementations, thisopens a list of nearby or featured merchants that are associated withthe cardless payment system. A user then has an option to add one of themerchants in the list to the “card case” view of the user's application.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example application view 504 of a user thathas opened a tab at a merchant inside the predetermined distance fromthe merchant. This view can show the name of the merchant or themerchant's logo 506. In some implementations, because the user's creditcard is already in the cardless payment system, the user does not needto physically give a credit card to the merchant. For example, once auser named John Smith wants to checkout with a few items, John Smith canpay by verbally telling a cashier “Put it on John Smith” 508. Thecashier can verify John's identity as described above. A user can alsopress a “Cancel Payment” button 510 to close the tab for the merchant.Closing the tab will prevent the merchant and the merchant's device fromcharging the user using a cardless payment transaction. In someimplementations, merchants can also close the tab on the merchantdevice; information that the tab is closed is transmitted to the serversystem and then to the mobile device, causing the tab (if beingdisplayed) to close on the mobile device as well. In someimplementations, tabs automatically close after a transaction has beenapproved. In some implementations, tabs automatically close after apreset amount of time, e.g., if no transaction has occurred. In someimplementations, a tab can be auto-opened 512. If this is turned on, theuser has given consent to open a tab automatically whenever the user'smobile device is within the predetermined distance from the merchant.The mobile device then can automatically detect in the background whenit is within the predetermined distance and automatically sends, also inthe background, an indication of proximity to a server in the paymentservice system as described above. The user can choose to engage in acardless payment transaction with the merchant without ever bringing theapplication to the foreground. Therefore, in some implementations, thisremoves the need to run the application on a main thread of the device'sprocessor. In other words, the user does not need to start theapplication when inside the predetermined distance and tap “Open a tab”.In practice, with Auto Open Tab turned on, John Smith, holding hismobile device 502, can walk to a merchant from outside the predetermineddistance, order an item for sale, and pay using the cardless paymentsystem without interfacing with his mobile device 502 at the point ofsale. In some implementations, the cardless payment system can limit the“auto-open” functionality to merchants with a fixed location forsecurity reasons.

FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 of an example application view 604 with a userthat has attempted to open a tab at a merchant outside the predetermineddistance from the merchant 610. In some implementations, the view showsa map 614 of the user's current location 612 and the location of themerchant 608 with a predetermined distance surrounding the merchant 610.In some implementations, the device can provide directions from theuser's location 612 to the merchant's location 608. The device can alsocalculate or display how far away the user's current location 612 isfrom the merchant's location 608. For example, the text can read “0.4 miaway, too far to open tab” 616. In this case, because the user's mobiledevice 602 is outside the predetermined distance from the merchant, theuser and the merchant cannot engage in a cardless payment transaction.Pressing the Done button can close this view 606. In someimplementations, this view of the application also allows the user to“Always Auto Open Tab” 618 as described above.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example view 700 of a merchant device'sapplication 702. If a user is associated with the cardless paymentsystem and is within the predetermined distance from the merchant, thedevice can display the user's identifying information in theapplication. In some implementations, the identifying informationincludes the user's name 710, picture 708, phone number, email address,or other personal identifying information. In some implementations,after verifying the user's identity using the identifying information,the merchant enters in a tab 706 into the application using the keypad704, shows the user the amount to be charged, and taps the “Ok” button712 to cause the device to process the transaction.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in thisspecification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matterdescribed in this specification can be implemented as one or morecomputer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions, encoded on a non-transitory computer storage medium forexecution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus.Alternatively or in addition, the program instructions can be encoded onan artificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generatedelectrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated toencode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus forexecution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium canbe, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, acomputer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memoryarray or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover,while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computerstorage medium can be a source or destination of computer programinstructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. Thecomputer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or moreseparate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, orother storage devices).

The operations described in this specification can be implemented asoperations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored onone or more computer-readable storage devices or received from othersources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.The apparatus and execution environment can realize various differentcomputing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributedcomputing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languageresource), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform actions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions andone or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally,a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive datafrom or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices forstoring data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks.However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer canbe embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console,a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device(e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and datainclude all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending resources to and receiving resources from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), andpeer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a clientdevice (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated atthe client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can bereceived from the client device at the server.

A system of one or more computers can be configured to performparticular operations or actions by virtue of having software, firmware,hardware, or a combination of them installed on the system that inoperation causes or cause the system to perform the actions. One or morecomputer programs can be configured to perform particular operations oractions by virtue of including instructions that, when executed by dataprocessing apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the actions.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: obtaining a current location of a mobile device of a customer; sending the current location to a cardless payment system; determining whether to send, to the cardless payment system, an indication of consent to perform a cardless payment transaction with the merchant; displaying on the mobile device whether the merchant is authorized to perform a cardless payment transaction with the customer.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a location of the merchant; displaying a map, where the map displays the location of the merchant and the current location.
 3. The method of claim 2, where the map displays a perimeter around the location of the merchant, where the perimeter resides a predetermined distance from the location of the merchant.
 4. The method of claim 1, where determining whether to send the indication of consent further comprises: displaying an option to send the indication of consent; if the mobile device receives input that triggers the option, sending the indication of consent to the cardless payment system.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the customer is within a predetermined distance of the merchant.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein if the mobile device is not within the predetermined distance, displaying an indication that the merchant is not authorized to perform the cardless payment transaction.
 7. The method of claim 6, comprising determining a distance from the mobile device to the merchant, and displaying the distance.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein if the mobile device is within the predetermined distance, sending an indication that the customer is within the predetermined distance to the cardless payment system.
 9. The method of claim 8, where the indication of consent to perform the cardless payment transaction with the merchant is sent before the indication that the customer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant is sent.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the indication of consent to perform the cardless payment transaction with the merchant is sent after the indication that the customer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant is sent.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the indication of consent to perform the cardless payment transaction with the merchant is sent with the indication that the customer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant.
 12. The method of claim 1, comprising determining whether an indication of consent has been received from the customer to perform cardless payment transactions with the merchant, and displaying the determination.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: sending, to the cardless payment system, an indication of a request to identify a merchant that will perform cardless payment transactions; receiving an identification of the merchant and location information for the merchant; and displaying the identification and the location information for the merchant.
 14. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving a request for approval of the transaction from the cardless payment system.
 15. The method of claim 14, comprising sending to the cardless payment system a PIN in response to the request for approval.
 16. The method of claim 1, comprising sending to the cardless payment system an identification of a financial institution and personal information of the customer.
 17. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving a record of the cardless payment transaction to the mobile device.
 18. The method of claim 1, where the merchant is authorized to perform the cardless payment transaction, and where the indication of consent does not include preselected items or services for purchase by the customer.
 19. The method of claim 1, where the merchant is authorized to perform the cardless payment transaction, and where the indication of consent is consent for the merchant to ring up items or services selected by the customer at a location of the merchant.
 20. A computer program product, tangibly embodied in a machine readable storage media, comprising instructions for causing a processor to: obtaining a current location of a mobile device of a customer; sending the current location to a cardless payment system; determining whether to send, to the cardless payment system, an indication of consent to perform a cardless payment transaction with the merchant; displaying on the mobile device whether the merchant is authorized to perform a cardless payment transaction with the customer.
 21. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising: receiving a location of the merchant; displaying a map, where the map displays the location of the merchant and the current location.
 22. The computer program product of claim 21, where the map displays a perimeter around the location of the merchant, where the perimeter resides a predetermined distance from the location of the merchant.
 23. The computer program product of claim 20, where determining whether to send the indication of consent further comprises: displaying an option to send the indication of consent; if the mobile device receives input that triggers the option, sending the indication of consent to the cardless payment system.
 24. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising determining whether the customer is within a predetermined distance of the merchant.
 25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein if the mobile device is not within the predetermined distance, displaying an indication that the merchant is not authorized to perform the cardless payment transaction.
 26. The computer program product of claim 25, comprising determining a distance from the mobile device to the merchant, and displaying the distance.
 27. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein if the mobile device is within the predetermined distance, sending an indication that the customer is within the predetermined distance to the cardless payment system.
 28. The computer program product of claim 27, where the indication of consent to perform the cardless payment transaction with the merchant is sent before the indication that the customer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant is sent.
 29. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the indication of consent to perform the cardless payment transaction with the merchant is sent after the indication that the customer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant is sent.
 30. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the indication of consent to perform the cardless payment transaction with the merchant is sent with the indication that the customer is within the predetermined distance of the merchant.
 31. The computer program product of claim 20, comprising determining whether an indication of consent has been received from the customer to perform cardless payment transactions with the merchant, and displaying the determination.
 32. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising: sending, to the cardless payment system, an indication of a request to identify a merchant that will perform cardless payment transactions; receiving an identification of the merchant and location information for the merchant; and displaying the identification and the location information for the merchant.
 33. The computer program product of claim 20, comprising receiving a request for approval of the transaction from the cardless payment system.
 34. The computer program product of claim 33, comprising sending to the cardless payment system a PIN in response to the request for approval.
 35. The computer program product of claim 20, comprising sending to the cardless payment system an identification of a financial institution and personal information of the customer.
 36. The computer program product of claim 20, comprising receiving a record of the cardless payment transaction to the mobile device.
 37. The computer program product of claim 20, where the merchant is authorized to perform the cardless payment transaction, and where the indication of consent does not include preselected items or services for purchase by the customer.
 38. The computer program product of claim 20, where the merchant is authorized to perform the cardless payment transaction, and where the indication of consent is consent for the merchant to ring up items or services selected by the customer at a location of the merchant.
 39. A method of purchasing goods or services from a merchant, comprising: selecting via a computing device a merchant and providing an indication of consent to perform a cardless payment transaction with the merchant to a cardless payment system; receiving on a mobile device an indication that the mobile device is within a predetermined distance of a location of the merchant; receiving on the mobile device a validating phrase; at a point-of-sale for the merchant identifying the goods or services for purchase; and providing the validating phrase to the merchant. 